Being Chosen Isn't Always A Good Thing
by midnight614
Summary: It's the 25th games, and time for the first Quarter Quell.  This year, it's up to the Districts to choose their tributes.  Who will die, and which lucky tribute will survive?
1. The Presidents Announcement

Being Chosen Isn't Always a Good Thing- The 25th Hunger Games

President Cook walked onto his balcony. This was where the video taping would be taking place. It was the first quarter quell and nobody knew what to expect. The President himself didn't even know, all he knew was there was some sort of twist that was made twenty five years ago by the founders. However, in just a few moments everybody would know the twist after the President, himself, read the card. In fact, they only had sixty seconds until this would be a live broadcast and everybody would hear his _wonderful _voice. He looked over at the camera man who counted down on his fingers once they reached ten seconds. "And three, two one, go," Rufus said as the broadcast went live. It started off with the National anthem of Panem and during that time, the President stood up and waited until it would be over. Rufus then gave him the go signal and the President began his speech.

"Good evening, residents of Panem. It's me, President Cook and it is officially time for our first Quarter Quell. I know we are all anxiously waiting," President Cook announced loud and clearly into the microphone as he opened up the small box that carried the cards for all of the quarter quells that were planned out. Of course the one they needed was on the top, so the President quickly grabbed the yellow envelope and opened it up as he quickly read it.

"Wow, now this is quite a surprise," the words quietly came out of his mouth making everyone become extremely anxious as they waited. He decided to end the suspense. "For the first Quarter Quell, the tributes will be chosen by none other then everybody else in the districts. Each family gets one vote for the girl, and one vote for the boy. Now have fun deciding on who you want to be in the games, for your district."

Right after the President finished saying that, he heard Rufus, the camera man, say, "And we are out."

The President then got up and walked over to the Head Gamemaker, Cormac. "You ready to make this first Quarter Quell a rememberable one?"

Cormac looked over at the President in surprise that he had just asked that. "Do you know me at all? I'm the Head Gamemaker and I love torturing the tributes. Of course this will be a remembered games!" he replied loud and clear but then mumbled something else, "As long as my fellow Gamemaker's don't fool around and actually get some work done..." he cut himself off before President Cook yelled at him for having a team that was slacking.

"Well you better get them under control because if you don't then we are going to have some serious problems!" President Cook announced rudely to Cormac before walking back into his office. He hated hearing that the Gamemaker's weren't under control, since it was indeed Cormac's job to make sure everything was running fine. The President was not going to let the First Quarter Quell be bad just because the Gamemaker's couldn't behave.

After President Cook made it back to his office, he sat down in his chair as he started to think about the next few weeks. It would only be a little longer until all of the tributes were selected. In fact, the President really liked the idea of the districts choosing their own tributes since he wanted to see how creative they would all be. He did wonder though if kids would volunteer to go in. He also wondered if people would pick people they hate, strong tributes that they personally thought could win it, or weak tributes who they knew would die.

* * *

><p>The Official List Of Tributes!<p>

**District One (Luxury items):**

Female- Aria Macmillan

Male- Felix Pierce

**District Two (Masonry):**

Female- Yoko Tanizawa

Male- Gust Gilbank

**District Three (Technology):**

Female- Taryn Lorelai

Male- Zane Braine

**District Four (Fishing):**

Female- Penelope Quartenfield

Male- Ruben Quincy

**District Five (Power):**

Female- Noelle Coltenburge

Male- Edison Schultz

**District Six (Transportation):**

Female- Jantelle Laise

Male- Kalen Ram

**District Seven (Lumber):**

Female- Jaine Crocker

Male- Cyprus Aldren

**District Eight (Textiles):**

Female- Unity Larson

Male- Thatcher Larson

**District Nine (Grain):**

Female- Imogen Wheaton

Male- Acer Woodwing

**District Ten (Livestock):**

Female- Mist Manke

Male- Parker Redmond

**District Eleven (Agriculture):**

Female- Alyssa Brown

Male- Aiden May

**District Twelve (Mining):**

Female- Jennah Morrison

Male- Troyzan Smith


	2. Aria and Felix Reaping's

So each district will have it's own reaping chapter, except for my bloodbath tributes who won't have any POV's.

So of course we start with district one: Aria Macmillan and Felix Pierce.

* * *

><p><strong>District One: Aria Macmillan<strong>

It was five in the morning when Aria's mother came running into her bedroom screaming, "What are you doing still asleep?"

Aria woke up quickly and turned over to her clock. She swore that she had set it the night before, but apparently she hadn't. However, since Aria didn't want to take the blame for it, she was going to blame it on her twin sister, Carina. "Oh I don't know, I guess Carina didn't come to wake me like she always does," she said in her sweet and innocent voice. It seemed to work since seconds later her mother headed towards the other room screaming Carina's name.

Aria got out of bed, and laughed. She loved how she could practically convince her mom that it wasn't her. The thing was, even though the twins always blamed each other for something where it was always the blamer's fault, they were still best friends. "You suck!" Carina said, laughing, as she walked into Aria's bedroom.

"Aww, you know you love me, plus you do it to me all the time."

"I know, but that's different."

"Not really."

"Fine, well we better get ready for training before mom yells at us, again."

"You got that right," Aria said as she pushed her sister out of her bedroom.

After Carina left, Aria quickly threw on some clothes and went into the bathroom. It only took her about ten minutes to get ready since she was running late. Plus, she knew that this was only training and she wouldn't have to get ready until later for the reapings, where she hoped she would be chosen.

The training started at about 5:30 and went on until 7 o'clock. During that time, their mother made Carina and Aria do a lot of tough stuff, but they didn't care since they had done it every day since the age of nine. So, to both of them, the time flew by and before they knew it, it was time to get ready for the reapings.

They walked into their house together and had another conversation. "So you ready to find out if the district chose you?" Carina asked.

The whole family knew the second that the twist was read aloud, that Aria had a good chance of going. Except for their dad, who was against everything their mother made them do, they all went out and advertised for Aria to go in.

She started out by showering and changing. Aria picked out the prettiest outfit she could find, which consisted of a nice blue dress. Though she hated wearing dresses, she knew that she needed to look good in case she was picked.

"Aria, Carina, it's time to head off for the reapings," their father, Carter, announced.

"Okay dad," the twins replied back in unison as they headed down the stairs to where their father and mother were waiting.

The four of them then headed off to the square, which was about a five minute walk. After they arrived, the twins met up with Diamond, their best friend of all time. The three of them walked over to their section and signed in. Right when they got there the mayor started to speak, but they paid no attention since they were seventeen and they had been hearing it for years. They did, however, pay attention the second the escort, Eileen spoke. "So who's ready to find out who the lucky are? Remember, you chose 'em!"

Nobody answered though, as they were all anxious to find out who it was. So she continued after figuring out they were ready. "The girl tribute is Aria Macmillan."

Aria smiled as Diamond and Carina pushed her towards the stage. They were all excited for her, and so was she. She really couldn't believe that they really did pick her and she was really eager for the Games. Once she reached the stage, she sat down in the chair that was waiting for her as she waited for the boy tribute.

Eileen took out the piece of paper that held the fate of who Aria would have to kill and read it aloud. "The boy tribute for district one is Felix Pierce." Aria looked over at his sister, which was also her best friend Diamond. Aria hadn't thought that Felix would be the one to get chosen, since Diamond had never said anything. She really couldn't believe that Diamond didn't tell her this and when Diamond came into the Justice Building to say goodbye, Aria would definitely say something.

Eileen then led her into the room where she would say her goodbyes to everybody and of course the first person in there was Diamond. "Why didn't you tell me about Felix before?" Aria said, not even bothering to saying hi.

Diamond just sat down next to her, as if she didn't want to speak though she eventually did. "I'm sorry Aria but he's my brother and I promised him that I wouldn't tell you. He's doing this to help you stay alive and he didn't want you to back out just because of him. He knows he will die and he's doing it just for you."

Aria just sat there in complete shock as Diamond hugged Aria and walked out of the room. She was still in daze when Carina entered.

"Did you know about Felix?" Aria demanded to know, once again she spoke without saying hi first.

"Yeah, I did, but I promised Diamond that I wouldn't tell you."

Aria walked out of the room angrily. She was mad because she felt like her own twin sister and her best friend in the whole wide world had just betrayed her.

"Aria! Are you oaky?" her parents asked as she strode past them, they were waiting for their turn to say goodbye.

"No I feel betrayed by Carina and Diamond and I'm done with them!" Aria shouted. However, since she did love her parents, she hugged them and said her goodbyes before walking away to where Eileen was waiting for her. Felix came out of his room about two minutes later and all Diamond could do was glare at him.

"I'll explain later," he whispered to her.

"You better," she replied angrily.

**District One: Felix Pierce**

At 4:30 a.m, sharp, Felix's younger sister, Diamond, walked into his bedroom to find one sleeping Felix. "Time to get up," She said as she took the covers off of him and he growled at her in response. Ever since Felix said he was going to ask people to vote for him to go into the Games, Diamond had been waking him extremely early to help him prepare.

At 4:40, Felix was officially out of his bed, since Diamond came in every minute to bug him.

"You're such an annoying sister!" he said teasingly since he knew he had asked Diamond to do this.

"Oh you're the one who wants to go into the Hunger Games, which means today is our last day together. Which means I have to get you well prepared and spend as much time as possible with you. I still don't understand why you want to go in," Diamond rambled on and on.

"You know exactly why, and remember, you and Carina both promised me you wouldn't tell Aria. I want to be the one to tell her when we get to the Capitol."

"I know, I know, and so does Carina. Geez, now let's get busy!"

"Fine, you leave and I'll meet you outside in a second," Felix replied watching Diamond exit his room. The second she left, Felix quickly threw on some clothes, and quickly relieved himself. That was all he did though, since he knew he would be dirty and sweaty after his practice. He'd leave time for a shower between training and reapings.

He was ready before his sister so he sat down in one of the kitchen chairs, impatiently waiting for her. He hated how she took so long, especially when today was his last day to practice before he would head off to the games.

About five minutes later, Diamond eventually made it downstairs.

"Finally, now let's start before I run out of time," Felix said as he opened the door and walked out, with Diamond following him.

During the next two and a half hours, Felix did all he could to prove that he was a good fighter. This included him fighting against Diamond, and also protecting her like she was Aria. When the time did end, Felix was all sweaty but also sad. As he walked back to his house to take a shower, he was hoping that all of his constant practice would pay off.

"Let's go Felix!" He heard right after he had changed into a nice outfit, since he did want to look his best for when he was reaped.

"Coming mother," he replied back as he walked into the kitchen to see Diamond and his parents standing there and waiting for him.

"Hey Felix, ready to go?" his father, Luis, asked him as Luis opened the door and waited for the family to walk outside.

"Yeah, but it's kind of sad that after today I will never see you guys again…" Felix started before getting cut off by his mother.

"I know you're doing this because you love Aria and want to protect her, but I just want you to know that your dad, Diamond, and I will all miss you. We love you and will miss you. Just have fun and enjoy your last moments with the girl of your dreams," his mother replied and got "yes' every time she said something involving Luis and Diamond.

As they reached the square, Felix decided to say one more thing to them, "Don't worry I'll see you all before I go but I just want you to know that I love you all too." After that they all went their separate ways, him to the eighteen year old boys, Diamond to the seventeen year old girl section with Aria and Carina, and his parents to the side with all the other parents.

Just a few minutes later, after the mayor's speech, the escort came up. His stomach twisted, knowing that in just a few minutes he would be sitting on the stage. However, he had to wait until after his girl was picked. Soon enough, "The girl tribute is Aria Macmillan," rang out causing Aria to walk up to the stage. Felix hated how he had known her for so long, but yet he still didn't have the guts to tell her he loved her.

Once she reached the stage, the escort continued on to announce the boy tribute. His name was uttered from her mouth. It was official, he was a boy tribute for the First Quarter Quell.

When he made it to the stage, Felix smiled at Aria, but noticed she was shocked. He could tell that Diamond and Carina stuck to their promise and didn't tell her, which made him feel good, he could finally tell her he loved her.

Felix was then lead into a room, which was where he would get to say his goodbyes to everybody. Surprisingly, Diamond wasn't the first one in the room but Carina was.

"Hi Carina," Felix said with a smile as he hugged her tightly and then continued, "Thanks for not telling Aria."

"Hi Felix, oh any time, she was definitely in shock though!" Carina replied back.

"Haha yeah I saw that."

"Yeah, well good luck in the Games, I know you said you're only there to protect Aria and not survive yourself, but do your best. Please, just survive long enough to help her win, and if she dies first, please promise me you will win it for her."

"I promise I'll definitely do my best…" Felix replied, but refused to say he would win it if she died. However, she didn't really realize it as she said her goodbye to him and then left the room to go see Aria.

Right after she left, his parents and Diamond entered into the room. Diamond stood in the back though as his parents came up to him and hugged him tightly. After they said their final goodbyes and told him to do his best, they too left the room. This meant that only he and Diamond were left in the room.

"Well let's just put it this way, Aria is definitely mad right now, so you have a lot of explaining to do," she said to him as she walked over and sat down next to him.

"I know, I know, but it will all pay off, trust me sis," Felix replied back as he hugged her tightly. Felix had no idea what he would do without his sister, except be lonely and not as prepared as he was now.

"Okay well good, just know that I love you and I will really miss you" Diamond replied as she hugged Felix back and smiled. After their hug, they both got up and walked over to the door.  
>"I love you," they both said in unison, as she left with tears coming down her eyes.<p>

"Time to go, sir," the peacekeeper said as he led him out to where Eileen and Aria were already waiting. He could already tell that Aria wasn't happy, so of course he told her he would explain later.

* * *

><p>Hope you liked district one reaping's. Let me know what you though too.<p>

Also, the list of the official districts was at the end of the last chapter, just in case you didn't see that.


	3. Yoko, Gust, and Ruben's Reapings

Sorry for the long wait but here we have a chapter!

In this chapter we hear from Yoko Tanizawa, Gust Gilbank and, Ruben Quincy

* * *

><p><strong>District Two: Yoko Tanizawa<strong>

Wake up early, train for games, and then shower. That had been Yoko's morning for a long time now. And because of that, everybody else saw her as a strong competitor, and wanted her to go into the games. Sure, she really did want to enter, but she would never freely volunteer. She was just too afraid that there would be water. Ever since her best friend Shuya drowned in _her _pool, Yoko couldn't stand the water.

"Yoko, honey, today for training we are going to go to the swimming pool," her mom, GoGo, said to her.

"No mom, you know I hate the water!"

"I know, but what if the District does choose you to go into the games? You need to be prepared for the worst."

With a sad, but understanding tone, Yoko replied, "Fine, just give me five minutes."

Excited, GoGo replied, "Okay, meet me outside at the pool." With that, her mom left Yoko's room. Yoko finished preparing for a day of training before heading outside to the swimming pool that had been eagerly waiting for this day to come.

Eventually, Yoko and her mom got on with training, one that would force her to overcome her fear. It took about an hour before Yoko managed to get a toe into the water, it was a start, one that made her feel very good about herself. It wasn't long before she found her whole body in the water, and she forced the panic away. It felt like forever before her mom was satisfied and they moved on to practicing hand to hand combat, and then eventually with weapons.

It was a very successful training and luckily went by extremely fast. Before she knew it, she was in the shower, preparing for the reaping.

After Yoko's nice, refreshing, shower, Yoko went back into her bedroom and picked out the prettiest outfit she could find for her Japanese body. She wanted to make sure she looked really pretty, if she did happen to be picked.

"Ready Yoko?" Her mom asked her just as Yoko walked out of her bedroom.

"Yeah, let's go mother," she replied back with a smile.

Though they were running a little late, the two still walked quite slowly towards the square. During their walk, Yoko's mom gave her tip after tip. It was like her mom knew the District had picked her and gave Yoko tiny hints to see if she would figure it out. However, Yoko _did_ figure it out and that's why when they did arrive at the square, (which was right before they called her name as the girl tribute), Yoko wasn't surprised. Yoko made her way up to the stage and smiled. She was actually quite happy about becoming a tribute for the First Quarter Quell. In fact, Yoko felt honored that the district chose her and thought she could win the games.

As Yoko sat there, the escort, Jasper Lox, undid the piece of paper with the name of her competition. "And now for the boy tribute for district two we have Gust Gilbank." Yoko watched as a very tall boy with dark eyes emerged from the eighteen year old section and made his way up to the stage. She knew of this kid, in fact he was the one that she and her mom had thought would be picked. That was because he was one of the strongest and had made it ver clear that he wanted to go into the games. Gust took his place next to her on the stage and the two glared at each other.

"Ladies and gentleman, I give you your District two tributes, Yoko Tanizawa and Gust Gilbank," Jasper announced and everybody cheered. It then hit Yoko that they were cheering for her, they had picked her (and Gust) because they thought one of them could win the games. Yoko didn't really know what to think about this, but she was happy that she did get picked. In fact, she kept thinking about it until she was in the Justice Building and her best friend, Claire, came in to say goodbye.

"Hi Claire," Yoko said the second Claire entered.

"Hi Yoko, I want you to have this," Claire replied as she put a bracelet into Yoko's hand, it had the word 'Friends' stitched on it.

Yoko looked at Claire, "Aww thanks Claire, I love you best friend of mine."

"I love you too. Do your best Yoko, I prefer to see you alive not dead."

"Haha okay, but no promises," Yoko replied as the two hugged.

After their hug, Claire left and Yoko slid on her bracelet. It was really cute and Yoko loved it. However, she didn't have long to cherish it since her mom came in a few seconds after Claire left.

"Yoko, I believe in you because we both know you have what it takes to win the games. Just try your best and don't go down without trying. Oh and remember, water is your friend."

"I know mom, I'll give it all I got and I'm not going to go down without giving all I got," she smiled at her mom, the one who Yoko knew her whole life and loved to death.

"Oh and please don't forget that I love you, you're my one and only child and I believe in you," her mom replied back as tears filled in both of their eyes.

"Mom, thanks for always being there for me. I won't let you down," she smiled as they hugged one last time before they had to be seperated.

Yoko stood there, waiting for the Peacekeepers to take her to where Jasper was waiting. However, when the door opened it wasn't the Peacekeepers light she thought, but Hiroki Sasagawa. Yoko looked up at him, shocked to see her ex-boyfriend that cheated on her when she was sixteen. "…What are you doing here?" Yoko asked in complete shock.

"Well I just wanted to come and tell you good luck."

"Okay, thanks no thanks. I can win this without your help."

"You know I'm sorry for what I did, it was an accident. Plus I still love you and I figured it was about time you know."

"You love me? Or you want me to be your girlfriend so that when I come back, you get the fame and all?"

"Whatever, if you don't appreciate me wishing you the best of luck then I'll leave, bye Yoko…" Hiroki said angrily as he walked out the room.

Yoko was now done with her goodbyes and was led to where Jasper and Gust were waiting for her.

**District Two: Gust Gilbank**

At seven o'clock, Gust woke up to a familiar sound. He heard his mom, Clivia, screaming, "You're such a lazy kid! You need to learn to be more like Gust! Oh and one more thing, you're twenty-four years old. I'm pretty sure you're old enough to live on your own. Take advantage of that!"

Gust turned over and looked at the clock. It was really late and surprisingly his mom wasn't yelling at him for waking up late, but at his brother, Quince. However, his mom did come into Gusts' bedroom right after she was done with yelling at Quince. "It's time to get ready for the reaping's. Make sure you look your best. You will most likely be picked to go in and if you are not dressed nicely, I'll be embarrassed," his mother said in a serious tone.

"Okay mom, I got it," Gust rolled his eyes and pushed his mom out of his bedroom. He waited until his mom was out of sight before leaving the safety of his room to go into Quince's room. He saw Quince lying on his bed and walked over there. "So what was all that about with mom?" Gust asked his brother.

Quince looked up, very surprised to see Gust. "Oh hey Gust. Mom was just mad because I'm not you. I'm her son she raised that failed and doesn't even have a girlfriend. While you're her son she raised who's strong and has what it takes to go into the Hunger Games and win it. It is quite annoying…"

Gust just stared at Quince, as he didn't really know what to say. Gust knew that if he was in his brothers' position, he would hate it too. However it was all Quince's fault. That's why Gust couldn't resist from saying the next words that came out of his mouth. "Quince, you know mom and dad love you. It is just that they want you to realize that you can live on your own. Now if you are going to yell at me for something that's not my fault, then I'm going to go. See you at the reaping," Gust angrily announced to his brother as he rushed out of his bedroom and into his own.

Once Gust made it to his bedroom, he quickly got ready for the reaping and put on a nice blue shirt with nice black pants.

After he was ready, he laid down on his bed for a few minutes before his two best friends, Jay and Kenrick, burst into his room.

"Hey Gust!" The two boys excitedly said to him before Jay continued by saying, "Ready to head off to the Reapings?"

"Yeah, let's go," Gust replied as he hopped off of his bed and walked over to his door. The three walked into the kitchen and Gust told his parents that they were heading off to the Reapings. With that, the three boys walked out the front door and started their short hike to the square. "So you think people listened and picked me to go into the Games?" Gust curiously wondered.

"Why wouldn't they? You're the best competitor in this district. I definitely think you are going!" Kenrick excitedly shouted and Jay agreed.

Gust looked at the two of them and smiled. He loved having these two guys as his best friends because they always gave him the support he needed, unlike his own brother. All that Quince did was complain about Gust being the perfect child. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. You two are the two best friends anybody could ever ask for," Gust said honestly as the three of them reached the Square. Even though they were early, Kenrick left Gust and Jay as he headed over to the seventeen year old section and the other two went to the eighteen year old section.

As Gust and Jay signed in and found the section that had been roped off for their age group, Gust looked over to see his parents and brother entering the Square. He looked over at them and smiled. Quince was the only one that noticed and mouthed "I'm sorry."

A sad expression grew on Gust's face, as he realized how much he had hurt his brother earlier and mouthed back "It's fine." Luckily the two of them were very good at reading mouths, so they both knew what each other were saying.

Gust was cut short though, as the Mayor read the Treaty, and then handed the mike over to the escort. It was the same old boring escort as last year, Jasper Lox. Gust carefully paid attention as Jasper read the girl tribute, "The girl tribute for District Two is Yoko Tanizawa." He watched as a seventeen year old girl with Japanese looks, made her way up to the stage.

After she made her way up there, Jasper quickly moved on to reading the boy's name, "And now for the boy tribute for District Two we have Gust Gilbank."

Excited, Gust walked up to the stage all proud with a big smile on his face. He glared at Yoko, and she returned the look. With that, Jasper brought the reaping to a closing by saying,

"Ladies and gentleman, I give you your District Two tributes, Yoko Tanizawa and Gust Gilbank."

Gust was then lead into the Justice Building and to the room where he would say his goodbyes, which was pointless because he knew he would see everyone again soon enough.

The first person to enter the room was Quince. "Hey bro, like I said, I'm really sorry about earlier…" Quince started but Gust quickly cut him off.

"Oh shut up, you know I already forgave you, just get away from the house. You'll love living on your own better than with mom and dad."

"Well thanks for your advice, and best of luck to you in the Games. I want you to have this chain bracelet of mine," Quince put a bracelet into Gust's hand.

"Thanks Quince, I love you, and I'll see you when I get back." The two hugged each before Quince left and his parents entered.

The conversation with his parents was quite short. All they pretty much did was give Gust advice and told him he had what it takes to win the games. They hugged, along with saying they loved him, and then his parents left without saying another word.

Next to enter was Jay and Kenrick. "See Gust, I told you that you would be the one that got chosen!" Kenrick spoke up.

"Yes you did, both of you did. Now I just have to prove to you all that I do have what it takes to win this thing. I'm going to dominate this thing and I'll see your guys' face in just a few weeks!" Gust replied, confident that he could win the Games.

"Well good luck Gust. Prove to them what it takes to win," Jay spoke with Kenrick agreeing. After that the Peacekeepers told them they had to leave and Gust was lead to where Jasper was waiting for him and Yoko.

**District Four: Ruben Quincy**

Ruben was close to his twin sister, Catcher. He loved her to death, even though she was paralyzed from her legs down. The stupid boating accident that had happened seven years ago turned Ruben's life upside down. That was why Ruben was up so early right now, training by himself. In just a few hours, he was hoping to stand up on the stage at the reapings and be pronounced a tribute. He didn't care about himself; he just wanted his sister to have a better life in the Victor's Village. Ruben would do whatever it took to win the games. As soon as he had heard the twist for this year, Ruben had gone around town campaigning with the residents of District Four to choose him as tribute. In just a few hours' time, he would find out if he had been successful.

The next few hours of training by himself went by quickly and before Ruben knew it, he was preparing for the reapings. He quickly showered and put on a nice, clean outfit. After that, Ruben went into his sister's bedroom where their dad was helping her get ready. However, Ruben's dad figured the two wanted some alone time and left the two of them to talk. "Hey Catcher. How's my twin sissy today?" Ruben asked as he kneeled in front of Catcher's wheelchair.

"I'm doing fine, Just a little sad because if you die in the Games…"

Ruben didn't even let Catcher complete her sentence before he spoke up in a calm tone, "I promise I won't die. You will soon be seeing me again and then we get to move into the Victor's Village. I'm very prepared for this all." Ruben then walked over to his sister and hugged her tight, whispering, "I love you sis.

"Ruben! Catcher! Time to head off to the Reaping's," their dad said as he came into the room.

"Okay dad, can I wheel Catcher there please?" Ruben asked.

"Yes," he replied and Ruben wheeled Catcher out of her bedroom and down the hallway.

Five minutes later, Ruben and his parents were walking to the Square, while Catcher was being pushed by Ruben. "So Ruben, you ready for this?" his mother asked him.

"Of course I am mom! I'll do anything to make things easier for Catcher."

"You know son, I'm glad you care this much about your sister, there are some families that don't care about their siblings what so ever. Like those two twin sisters, Penelope and Harmony Quartenfield. Those two girls are like each other's enemies," his dad said with a smile.

"Thanks dad, but I love my sister more than any other girl out there. Oh and those two girls are just too competitive."

"I love you too," Catcher turned around to give him a huge grin.

Their loving conversation was sadly cut off as they reached the Square and had to go their separate ways. "I'll see you in the Justice Building," Ruben said to his family as his father took Catcher. Since he had to go to the boys section and she had to go the girls section, it was just a lot easier for their father to bring Catcher there.

While Ruben was getting checked in, the mayor read the Treaty, which of course Ruben paid no attention to. He quickly made it over to his section and found a spot to squeeze in. He wasn't surprised when the name Penelope Quartenfield was announced as girl tribute. Ruben watched as she made her way up to the stage, he glanced over to see a very angry looking Harmony.

He didn't have much time to look at Harmony though, since the escort, Louise Bellingham, continued by pulling out the envelope that held the name of the boy tribute. Ruben headed for the stage before the name was said. It didn't make a difference, because it was his name uttered from Louise's mouth.

He shook hands with Penelope once he got on the stage. He thought about how his twin sister was taking things differently than Penelope's twin sister. For example, Catcher was excited that Ruben got picked and would be sad when he died. On the other hand, Harmony was mad about Penelope being picked and was probably wishing for her death. His thoughts were interrupted as Loiuse spoke again, "I give you your District Four Tributes, Penelope Quartenfield and Ruben Quincy!"

Right after she spoke that, the crowd erupted in excitement while he and Penelope were brought into the Justice Building to say their goodbyes. He walked over to a chair and sat down to wait for his family.

He didn't have to wait long, since the door quickly opened and his parents entered, pushing Catcher along with them. While they were entering, Ruben noticed something in Catcher's hands, which looked like a pearl necklace. Ruben quickly glanced at Catchter's bare neck . "Why is the necklace in your hand, and not around your neck?"

Catcher held out the necklace, "It's because I want you to have this. I want this to be your token."

Ruben smiled as he carefully took the necklace from her, "Thanks Catcher."

"Anytime, Ruben you know that I love you right?"

"Of course I know that you love me! However, I definitely love my twin sister of mine more."

"Now, now, calm down you two. We only have so much time. Your father and I just want you to know that we love both of you. Ruben, we believe in you and we know you have what it takes to win the Games. So go out there and do us a favor, win this for us all," his mother spoke.

It touched Ruben's heart and he smiled as he hugged his mother and father, "I love all three of you and I'll see you all soon," Ruben said as the three were forced out of the room by the Peacekeepers.  
>Ruben looked at the empty room and realized he was officially on his way to the Capitol, to participate in the Games.<p>

* * *

><p>So there you have it, your district two and four reaping's.<p>

Next chapter we will here from district three and five.

Also, please review. Tell me what you thought of these tributes and if they were your tribute, let me know how I did writing them.

Now your next chapter is almost done and will be up soon, but more reviews means it will be up even faster.


	4. Taryn and Edison's Reaping's

Yes this is a chapter in under one week. Are you proud of me?

Well in this chapter you here from Taryn and Edison.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>District Three: Taryn Lorelai<strong>

"Taryn sweetie, it's time for you to wake up," Taryn heard her mother, Oria, say through the layers of Taryn's dreams.

In the next few seconds, Taryn's eyes kept blinking, eventually opening up for good for the day. "Eww mom, it's the day of the Reaping's, I don't want to go."

"I'm sorry sweetie, but unfortunately you have to," her mother's sad face peered at her.

"But what if I get picked?" Taryn replied, very scared. She had a very strong feeling that it would be her. It wasn't her fault though that her dad had accidentally started an electrical fire that had been the cause of death for hundreds of other men. If only those families weren't holding such a grudge, then maybe Taryn wouldn't get picked. However, the families were and had been since the day it happened. It was so bad that she even got bullied by the boys whose fathers had died in the fire. Taryn hated it and was currently living in fear of being chosen by her District.

"I'm sure you will be fine," her mother replied even though her mother knew Taryn had a good chance of being picked.

Just then, Taryn's sister screamed, "TARYN!" Taryn and her mom looked over see Kiana, who just moments ago had been lying in bed, still asleep. Now the eleven year old was sitting up with a look of pure fear on her face.

Taryn went over to her sister and tried to calm her down. "What is it honey?" Taryn asked in her sweet voice.

"I just had a nightmare and in the nightmare, you…were…chosen as to GO INTO THE GAMES…"

Just then their mother stepped into try and calm Kiana down. "I'm sure Taryn will be fine," their mom said even though she too knew in her heart that Taryn wasn't safe.

"No mom. Kiana's nightmares always come true. I'll just accept the fact that I now have a death sentence. Kiana, do you know who the boy tribute was?"

"Yes, it was that twelve year old boy who helped daddy built the invention that started the fire," Kiana stated matter-of-factly.

"No, not Zane! He's only twelve years old, he doesn't deserve this. Plus it's not his fault his dad helped our dad make an invention that was supposed to help the District," Taryn kept going on and on.

"Calm down Taryn. We all know that neither you nor Zane did anything but we can't change anybody's mind, they have already cast their vote. Plus this is part of living in one of the Districts, nobody ever gets what they want. Now how about we go and get ready for the Reaping's? Taryn pick out the prettiest clothes you have," Taryn's mom replied as calmly as she could.

"Okay mom," Taryn replied as she walked over to her small closet that she had to share with Kiana. Taryn picked out a 'pretty' blue dress and went into the bathroom. She turned on the 'shower' and got in. As there was only cold water, Taryn showered as quickly as she could, about two minutes. Once she finished she put on the dress and walked out of the small bathroom that she barely fit in.

"Girls, are you two ready to go?" Taryn's mom asked as she walked over to her daughters.

"Yes mommy, but I don't want to go," Kiana said with a sad face and tearing eyes.

Taryn hugged her sister tightly, "Yes mom we are ready. Kiana, if you don't go then you won't get to say goodbye to me."

"Fine, I'll go," Kiana replied as she wiped away her tears.

The family of three finally exited their house and made the dreaded walk to the square where the reapings always took place. On the way there, Taryn's friend, Ajani, caught up with them. "Hey Aj," the three said in unison.

"Hi Taryn, hi Kiana, hi Mrs. Lorelai, how's everything going?" she curiously asked.

"Not so good, Kiana had a nightmare and I was the one that got reaped…"

"No, that can't happen!" Aj started but was cut short when they reached the Square and the Peacekeeper's forced them to go their separate ways. Taryn signed in and walked over to where the rest of the thirteen year old girls were standing.

Just than the escort, Maria Loanes, came up and began the torture. Taryn gulped when Maria opened the envelope to read the girls name. Sadly, Kiana's nightmare did become true and quite soon both Taryn and Zane were up on the stage, shaking hands. "Ladies and gentleman, I give you your district three tributes, Taryn Lorelai and Zane Braine."

After Maria said that, they were lead into the Justice Building for their goodbyes. Of course, Taryn's mother and sister were the first to come in. Their conversation pretty much consisted of all three of them crying so much that impeded any words from being spoken.

After they were kicked out, Aj entered the room. "So your sister was right?" she asked Taryn.

"Unfortunately," Taryn replied as they hugged tightly. Aj could tell that Taryn was crying so she did her best to calm her down as much as possible. "Take care of my family please Aj." Taryn needed to make sure they'd be fine if she did die, which was very likely.

"I will," Aj replied with a forced smile as the Peacekeepers dragged her out of the room.

After Aj left, Morow entered. "Hey" Taryn said to the boy she had liked for a long time.

"Hi Taryn, I want you to know that I will miss you. Please try to make it back though. Also, I'm sorry I waited until today to tell you this but I…I love you," at that moment Morow leaned in and gently kissed Taryn's lips.

Taryn smiled as she kissed him back but unfortunately didn't have enough time to say "I love you too," before the Peacekeepers came barging in and forced them apart.

Taryn was done with her goodbyes and she started to cry more. Taryn really wished the District hadn't of chosen her but like her mom said, it was life. She was officially a tribute in the Games, and nothing would change that.

**District Five: Edison Schultz**

Edison had just woken up when he heard his sister, Lucy, knocking on his door. "Come in," he yelled. He was too lazy to actually get up and open the door, so he was really hoping it was open. Since Lucy managed to get in without much force, it was clear the door was unlocked. "What's up sis?" he asked with a worried expression.

Lucy had a sad face on her face and Edison really started to worry. Tears started to come down her face as she barely made out the words, "W-hat if you g-et re-aped?"

Edison hugged his sister tightly. He couldn't believe that she had even said those dreaded words. She was only eleven years old and already knew what today was and that he had a chance of dying. In fact, he had a high chance considering everybody hated his father, who was the mayor of the District. "Don't worry Lucy, I'm sure everything will be okay," he calmly said, even though he knew he couldn't promise it.

Just then, their father entered the room and started to speak, "Hey kids, I'm sorry but I have to head over to the Square and get ready for the reaping's. I'll see you two there. Until then, how about you go get ready?"

"Okay dad," both kids replied in unison as their dad walked away. They never even got to ask him if they thought Edison would get picked. That meant they would dread the next few hours.

They decided to listen to their dad though, and the two of them walked out of Edison's bedroom to find their mother. "MOM!" Edison yelled, a few seconds later she appeared out of nowhere.

"Yes Edison?" their mom replied as she picked up Lucy. Lucy was very light and only got heavy if you were holding her for a while.

"I need to go get ready and you said last night you'd help Lucy get ready."

"I will, you go. I have Lucy."

"Thanks mom," and with that Edison walked back into his bedroom to pick out a nice outfit, Everybody in the District thought him and his family had all the good stuff just because their dad was the mayor. Well the thing was, he still suffered just as much as the other kids. For example, his clothes were no better and he ended up picking a white shirt that had a big stain on it, along with black pants.

With his outfit decided on, it was time for him to shower in his so called shower that pretty much provided only cold water. Luckily, Edison had gotten used to the cold water but he still didn't linger long as he knew the rest of the family would be angry if he used all the water. After all, cold water was better than no water.

After Edison showered, he walked back into his bedroom to get dressed. He still had a little bit more time so he lay on his semi-comfy bed and read a comic.

It didn't last long before Lucy came into his bedroom a few minutes after he started reading the comic. Edison looked up at his energized sister, who was also all ready for the reaping's. Annoyingly and a little rudely, Edison spoke, "What is it Lucy?"

Lucy looked scared and now Edison felt bad. He quickly hopped off of his bed and picked her up. "I'm sorry Lu. It's just that I wanted some alone time, but since you're worried about me getting reaped, I'll let you bug me, but just this once." He gave her a wink to let her know he was joking about the last part.

A smile quickly appeared on Lucy's face as their mom walked over to them. "I'm sorry Edison. Lucy was just really excited to see you."

"Don't worry about it, mom. Oh and she looks really pretty in her white dress," Edison tickled his sister. Lucy laughed and wiggled but Edison wouldn't let her go.

"Okay, that's enough joking around but how about we head off to the reapings? We don't want to miss your dad's speech."

They all laughed, knowing that their dad was silly when it came to saying that speech.

"Okay let's go," Edison walked over to the door, still holding Lucy. Their mom followed and before they knew it, they had arrived at the Square. Since their dad was the mayor of the District, their house was very close to the center of town. This meant that it was only about a three minute walk.

Once they made it there, Edison looked around to see a big crowd of people making their way to the Square. "I'm going to go sign in," Edison said as he gently put Lucy on the ground.

"See you later," Edison's mother replied as she took Lucy and walked away.

He quickly signed in and hurried over to the seventeen year old;s section. As he was walking over there, Edison looked around to try and find his dad, who he eventually found up on the stage preparing. Edison smiled to him, but received a frown back. He didn't understand why his dad was frowning until Edison bumped into his all-time enemy, Theodore.

"Watch where you are walking idiot," were the harsh words that Theodore angrily said. In the next moment, Theodore pushed down Edison, before quickly hurrying away. Sure Edison was mad, but there was nothing he could do. Theodore was a whole lot stronger than he was so Edison just got up and walked over to his section. The only difference was that this time he looked to see where he was going.

Right when Edison made it to his proper roped in area, his father began with his yearly talk. The speech went quickly and Edison smiled as his dad. He was proud of his dad and loved him so much. Edison would never in a million years wish for a different father.

The escort, Lydia Bancok, soon came up. She was new this year and was way too cheerful for Edison's taste. So he tuned her out as the girl tribute was read. Edison didn't know the fourteen year old girl that made the dreaded walk up to the stage and suddenly became curious as to why she was picked as the tribute.

The time came too soon before the boy tribute was revealed. Edison had forgotten all about him possibly being picked until now. Lucy was right and his name rang through his ears as he walked up to the stage. He looked over at his dad, who looked very sad, he knew why though.

Lydia paid no attention though and once Edison reached the stage, she continued on. "District Five I give you Noelle Coltenburge and Edison Schultz as your two tributes." With that, the reaping was over and the two tributes were lead into the Justice Building for their goodbyes.

Lucy quickly ran into the room and hugged Edison tightly, their parents right behind. The four of them hugged, along with all of them saying "I love you." The only other thing that happened during the goodbye was Edison's dad giving him some useful advice.

Their time quickly ended though and Edison was lead to where Noelle and the escort were waiting. It was official; two innocent children were just condemned to die.

* * *

><p>Please review, let me know what you thought of Taryn and Edison.<p>

Next chapter we here from our district six and seven boy's.


	5. Kalen and Cyprus' Reaping's

**District Six: Kalen Ram**

Bang, bong, boom. The sound of the town clock meant that it was midnight. Which meant that it was time for Kalen and Jack to sneak off to get their thieving done, a tradition that occurred every night at this time. When the District was sleeping, they could easily slip in and out of places without being seen.

"Let's go to the shoemakers store first, I think we both agree we need more shoes," Kalen whispered to Jack. The other boy nodded and the two made their way over to the shoe store for boots. This was also the easiest place to break into, since the family that owned it still hadn't replaced the hole in the back wallboard.

The plan, which was the same as always, went without a hitch. Jack hurried to the back and crawled through the hole. At fourteen, he was smaller than the sixteen year old Kalen and could fit through without having to wiggle too much. The last time Kalen had tried it, he had gotten stuck and it took several wasted seconds to pull him out. After Jack made it in, he unlocked the door for Kalen

The boots sat where they always were, on a shelf directly to the right of the entrance, it didn't take long to pick out which ones they wanted. Kalen ended up swiping a pair of black boots, while Jack went with brown ones. Now all they had to do was lock the door and walk out, which was too easy. Kalen was a pro when it came to stealing. The good thing was that nobody had proof that him, and Jack, were the thieves in the District. The people did suspect that it was them though. But suspecting it was them wasn't the same as having concrete proof.

After getting their boots, Kalen and Jack broke into the armory and walked out with a brand new knife for each of them. After that they went to the fabric store to get some spiffy new outfits. Their last stop of the night was at the bakery for day old bread. The fresh bread wouldn't get baked for a few more hours. At every place they went to, the boys only picked up a little bit of money. They couldn't make it look too obvious, which was why they stole pretty much every night.

It was about two in the morning when Kalen and Jack made it back to the apartment that Kalen's dad bought for him before he left for District Two. Kalen hated how his dad abandoned him, especially when his dad knew he had no mother.

The thing was, he couldn't change his dad's mind. It was his choice to leave Kalen when he was only twelve years old and Kalen would always be mad about it. Kalen did appreciate though how his dad left him with enough money for a few months and a place to live. Plus, after his dad left, Kalen met little Jack. After they ran out of the money Kalen's father gave them, they decided to become thieves. At that time, Kalen was twelve years old and Jack was only ten. Now the two had been thieves for four years, and still hadn't been caught.

Jack went straight to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but Kalen was awake until almost three thirty, he couldn't get his father out of his mind. Somehow he managed to clear his mind and fall into a deep slumber.

In fact, Kalen was so tired that Jack ended up having to wake up Kalen. The bad thing was that today was the day of the reaping's and Jack had woken up late too. By the time Jack woke up Kalen, the two only had fifteen minutes to get ready. They quickly threw on clothes, being careful not to wear the clothes that had been stolen during the night. After grabbing two rolls of bread, the two headed out of the apartment towards the Square, with only a few minutes until the reaping's began.

When they finally did make it there, the Mayor was in the middle of giving the speech that he gave every year to tell about the dark days; it really annoyed Kalen to bits. Since he wassigning in for the reaping's, he didn't really have to pay attention to the speech. He only had to pay attention when it came to reading the tributes.

"Jantelle Laise," the escort, Marshal Suite, read out and the District watched as Jantelle made her way up to the stage. Jantelle was a fourteen year old who was actually a cousin of Jack's. Kalen began to wonder if the District voted for Jantelle just because she was related to Jack since everybody thought Kalen and Jack were the two town thieves. His theory was proven right when Marshal called out his name.

Kalen walked up to the stage and noticed something silver in Marshal's pocket. When Kalen got closer, he noticed that there was actually a silver coin in his pocket. When Kalen did reach the stage, he shook hands with Jantelle and smiled at her.

Then a few moments later, Marshal spoke, "And I happily announce that your two tributes are Jantelle Laise and Kalen Ram." The second everybody halfheartedly clapped and became distracted, Kalen carefully stuck his hand in the escorts pocket, and pulled out the silver coin. He put it in his pocket and heard Jantelle laugh. He laughed too but then they were led their separate ways for goodbyes.

Kalen sat down and waited for his one and only visitor, Jack, to come in. "Kalen…" Jack started and Kalen could tell jack was sad.

"Look Jack, I know both Jantelle and I are in the games now, but you need to stay strong. You know how to steal things and you can do this. Before you know it, I'll be back and everything will be normal again," Kalen announced to his best friend in the whole wide world.

"Okay Kalen, you better come back though."

"I will. Oh I stole this silver coin from the escort for my token."

"Oh wow, you would do that!" Jack laughed.

The two boys hugged and Jack was forced to leave. Since Jack was his only visitor, the Peacekeeper's brought Kalen to where the escort was waiting for them. After a few minutes, Jantelle showed up. In order for Kalen to make it back to his best friend, Jack's cousin would have to die.

**District Seven: Cyprus Aldren**

As always, the impact that the cold water made when Cyprus first got in the shower made him shiver. Even though he was used to cold showers by now, the first few freezing droplets always shocked him. In fact, Cyprus enjoyed the cold water, it helped him better adapt during the winter time. Whether he liked it or not, though, his showers were and always would be quick. He would always get ready in the morning quickly and then go outside and do whatever he felt like. Most of the time, he would start off by visiting his sister, Chestnut, along with her husband and kids. Then he would meet up with his best friend, Aspen, and they would walk to school together. Well, when he was in the mood to go to school. Which was very rare for Cyprus. Most of the time he would just wander about town, casually listening in to other's conversations.

Even though today was the day of the dreaded reapings, Cyprus would follow his schedule. So, after his nice, cold shower, he put on some jeans along with a blue t-shirt. Cyprus was never really into wearing fancy clothes to the reaping's, in fact, not matter what the day, he'd always wear pants and a plain shirt. Less of a hassle that way.

"Mom, I'm going to go visit Chestnut. I'll see you at the reaping's, I promised Aspen I'd walk with her there," Cyprus said as he found his mom in the kitchen.

"Okay Cyprus, see you there," she then hugged Cyprus, who rolled his eyes but returned the gesture of affection. She made him feel like such a mama's boy.

Outside, Cyprus saw his dad who was cutting down a tree with an axe. "Oh, hey dad, I'm on my way over to Chestnut's and then to Aspen's. Do you need help though?" Cyprus asked as he looked over at his tired dad.

"Well I'm a little tired, but you can go if you want. I can just finish this after the reaping's," his dad replied, breathless.

"Dad, go inside and catch a breath. I'll work on the tree for a few minutes," and with that Cyprus grabbed the axe from his dad and started chopping at the tree.

His dad said "okay" and then walked inside, leaving Cyprus all along outside. He went as fast as he could to get as much done in five minutes as he could. Since he did skip school a lot to go to the lumberyard, Cyprus was one of the best his age with an axe.

Satisified with the work he had completed in only five minutes, Cyprus carefully set the axe down in a safe location and headed off to Chestnut's house. She didn't live too far away from him and his parent's house, so it was only about a four minute walk there. Like usual, he didn't knock on the door but instead just entered.

"Way to not knock on the door again you little monster," Chestnut laughed as she walked over to her little brother ruffled up his hair. People sure loved to show him gestures of affection today.

"So what is up with my favorite sister today?"

"Oh shut up, I'm the only sister you have!"

"Well then my fact about you being my favorite sister is true," Cyprus smiled as he walked over to his sister's kitchen and grabbed some bread.

"Oh thanks for not asking to have that," Chestnut followed in and looked at her brother as she took the bread from him.

"Fine then, can I please have that piece of bread, Chestnut?"

"Fine, fine," Chestnut replied as she handed him the bread. A noise from above startled them and she sighed. The children were awake. "Well I have to go help Berry get the kids ready. See you at the reapings?"

"Yeah, see you then," Cyprus walked over to the door and started his hike towards Aspen's house.

On his way over to Aspen's, Cyprus heard two men talking about who they had picked to go into the reapings. He decided to hide behind a wall as he used his amazing listening skills to hear what they were saying.

"Who did I chose? I chose Birchwood, I'm sick of him bullying my children and I'm sick of all of his troublesome things he does," the first man said.

"Yeah, I chose Birchwood too, hopefully he goes in. I don't think I can live with him in our District any longer," the second man replied.

Cyprus smiled as he realized that a lot of people really did chose Birch to go into the Games. At first it had been a rumor, a name tossed into the mix, but now that the voting was over, it seemed like Birch was the favorite to go because he was the least favorite boy in town. Feeling better about the day, he continued on to Aspen's house.

When Cyprus arrived there, he heard Aspen yelling at her mom, but only caught the last of the conversation. "WHY MOM? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT! YOU'LL REGRET IT IF HE IS PICKED!" Cyprus heard Aspen yell as she came storming out the door. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed Cyprus waiting there for her.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asked, her eyes wide in terror. Making him wish he had been there earlier to hear the whole thing.

"What was all that about?" he asked her, curiously.

"I don't want to talk about it right now," Aspen let out a breath of air, realizing he hadn't heard everything. She sped walk towards the Square, determined not to talk to him about what her argument with her mom had been about.

"Oh okay…" Cyprus caught up to Aspen but didn't say anything else. He wasn't going to force Aspen to talk about something she didn't want to talk about, and the best way to avoid that was to not talk. In his opinion, just him being next to her was fine because she could talk if she wanted to.

The two eventually arrived at the Square and she nodded at him before they went their separate ways. It was her way to wish him good luck. He headed over to the seventeen year olds boy section, and she went to the seventeen year olds girl section.

The second he reached the section, the escort, Valerie Bloomskie, began to speak. "Good morning District Seven! I think it is about time we find out who our girl tribute will be," and with that she took out the envelope that held the girls name. "Jaine Crocker, you're the chosen one." Cyprus watched as a fifteen year old girl with brown hair made her way up on stage. He had heard her name come up in conversations that he listened in on, but he never had a face to connect to the name. Now he did.

Once Jaine made it up to the front and center, Valerie went straight on to the boy tribute. "For our boy tribute you guys' have chosen Cyprus Aldren." Cyprus looked over at Birch, thinking it was him that got picked. However he realized everybody was looking at him and Birch wasn't moving. "Cyprus Aldren where are you?" It _had _been him that got picked as the tribute, not Birch. Everybody who he heard talking had said Birch, never was his name mentioned. He knew it was him, though, and he quickly made his way up onto the stage and spotted Aspen, who was silently crying.

"District seven, it is official, your tributes for the Twenty-fifth Hunger Games are, Jaine Crocker and Cyprus Aldren." With that, the peacekeeper's arrived to lead him to the Justice Building for his goodbye's.

The first person to enter was a crying Aspen. He hugged her tightly and tried his best to calm her down. "Look Cyprus, I got in a fight with my mom earlier today because she told me she put you down as her vote. I had told her to put down Birch, but behind my back she put down your name instead. I know we thought Birch would be the one, but the thing is District Seven wants a winner. They think you have what it takes to win it. You have to prove them all right. You can't die in there. Please promise me you'll make it back?" Aspen continued to cry but looked into Cyprus' eyes.

"I promise you Aspen that I will do whatever it takes to win this. I'm good with an axe, I can hear conversations from a mile away, that's probably a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean. I'm a fast runner. I probably am the best one to send in. Now promise me you'll be strong while I fight to make it back." 

"I promise," they broke apart from their hug and Aspen was forced out of the room so his parents could enter.

His parents told him he had what it takes to win the Games and gave him some pretty helpful advice. Their time was soon up and next to enter was his sister and her family. The kids were too young to understand what was going and just thought he was going on a vacation. "See you later, Uncle Cyprus," the two kids replied in unison in their cute kid voice. They hugged him tightly and Berry wished him luck before they left, leaving only Chestnut and him. "You can do it Cyprus, I believe in you," she said as she once again ruffled his hair before leaving.

It was official, the whole District was counting on him to bring them a victor. Cyprus wouldn't let anything ruin that from happening.

* * *

><p>Please review! I only got one review from the last chapter and it was a little disappointing. It doesn't take long to do and it helps me out.<p>

Next chapter we hear from district nine.


	6. Imogen and Acer's Reaping's

**District Nine: Imogen Wheaton**

The bed wasn't comfy and she didn't get much food. She had to share her "bedroom" with ten other girls and she had no parents to protect her. Imogen's life was definitely not easy. But it was something that she had to live with. She didn't really have any other choice. Nothing could ever make her mom come back to life and she couldn't change the fact that her dad was having an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.

Imogen sat on the end of her bed and looked over at the other girls as she tried to get her parents out of her mind. Several of the girls were already up and getting ready for the reaping's. The others, like Imogen's best friend, Rice, were still asleep. If they didn't wake up soon than Ms. Heffie would come and wake them up. Sure she was really kind and cared about all of the girls, but sometimes there were times when Ms. Heffie would get cranky and worried, and that was never a good mix.

It was reaping day though and Imogen knew Ms. Heffie wouldn't be too happy with those who were still sleeping, Imogen decided it would be best to wake up Rice. She moved over to where Rice slept and sat on the end of the bed, lightly touching her. Since Rice was a light sleeper, she quickly woke up and smiled at Imogen.

"Morning beautiful, you prepared to get ready for the reaping's?" Imogen asked Rice right as Ms. Heffie came in to wake up the girls that were still in the midst of dreamland.

"Morning Imogen yeah let's get ready," Rice replied as she hopped out of her bed. The two walked over to their drawers and picked out their dresses for the reaping's. Imogen's was red, while Rice's was green.

It didn't take the two girls long at all to get ready. In fact, ten minutes after picking out their dresses they were ready to go.

"Ms. Heffie, Rice and I are going to head over to the square," Imogen said politely.

"Okay, good luck girls. See you later" she replied as Imogen and Rice left the orphanage and headed towards the square.

"So, Imogen who do you think the district chose?"

"I don't know Rice, but I overheard some of the other girls saying the orphans were in danger."

"So does that mean it may be one of us?"

"I do not know, Rice. It could be one of us, it could be another orphan, or it could be somebody we don't even know. We just have to wait and see," Imogen looked over at Rice. She now had tears in her eyes and Imogen quickly hugged her best friend in the whole entire world and whispered, "I'm sure we'll be fine."

Imogen then looked up and saw how crowded the square was beginning to get. Before Imogen knew it, Rice was speaking, "You think we should sign in and all, before it gets and more crowded?"

"Sounds like a plan," Imogen replied as they got in the shortest line they could find. After the Peacekeepers signed them in, the two girls separated and Imogen headed to the section meant for her age group, fifteen.

She had to wait in the hot son for several minutes before the mayor was introduced and went on with his boring speech. Imogen paid no attention, since she heard it every year.

Now the escort, Helga Greensfield, walked up to the stage. "Shall we begin with the girls?" Helga asked. Imogen didn't know why though, since nobody had a choice in the matter. Sure enough, Helga opened up the envelope which held the name of the girl whose life would be ended by the games. That one unfortunate girl was "Imogen Wheaton."

Unluckily that one girl just had to be _her. _Imogen gulped as she walked up to the stage. She looked over at the thirteen year olds section and saw Rice who had tears streaming down her cheeks. There was nothing Imogen could do to calm her best friend down because the district picked her and she was officially a tribute in the twenty-fifth hunger games.

Imogen made it to the stage and watched with as much courage as she could muster up, as Helga carefully opened up the second envelope and read the name, "Acer Woodwing."

A tall boy with a scar on his left forearm emerged from the sixteen year olds section. He made his way up to the stage and the two shook hands. "District nine; I give you your tributes for the twenty-fifth hunger games, Imogen Wheaton and Acer Woodwing."

Imogen was lead to the justice building to say her goodbyes, Rice came running in, "Imogen!"

Imogen looked at her best friend and grew even sadder then she already was. "Hey Rice. While I am gone promise me you'll try and make new friends with the other girls. I'll try to make it back to you but there are no promises. Stay strong Rice."

"Okay Imogen, please try hard," Rice replied as more tears came down her eyes.

"I will," Imogen hugged Rice and the hug continued until Rice was forced to leave.

Imogen thought that Rice would be the only one to visit her but to her surprise, Ms. Heffie came in. "Oh hi Ms. Heffie," Imogen smiled.

"Hi Imogen, I'm really sorry that you were the one to get choosen. I just want you to know that I'll miss you. In fact, I'm sure a lot of the girls will miss you."

"Thanks Ms. Heffie. Can you make sure Rice does fine without me?"

"Yes Imogen."

"Thanks."

Imogen watched the woman who had come to be her second mom leave, knowing that she would probably never see Ms. Heffie again.

Once again, to her surprise, Imogen had even more visitors. This time it was a few of the girls from the orphanage. "Hey Imogen," the girls said in unison.

"Hi everyone," Imogen replied as she smiled.

"Sorry you got picked and even though a lot of us don't talk to you, we'll still going to miss you," Gloria, the one who Imogen talked to the least, said.

"Thanks, I'll miss all of you too," Imogen replied.

The rest of the time the girls just talked about trivial things until the peacekeeper's forced the girls to leave.

Imogen's goodbyes were officially over and Imogen was led to the train where she found a place to sit. She watched as District 9 became a dot in the distance. She went from having loving parents, to a drug addict dad, to living in an orphanage, and now she was about to embark on the fight of her life in the dreaded games.

**District Nine: Acer Woodwing**

Olives were a very nasty food but currently Acer was thinking about eating a big fat one. "Shut up Olive! Go wake up Coral!" Acer yelled back at his nine year old sister who was currently bugging the crap out of him. Acer just wanted to sleep, but according to Olive, that wasn't allowed.

"Mommy said that I needed to wake you up, so I'm only following her directions," Olive smartly replied back.

Acer looked at his annoying sister and started to wonder if their parent's named her Olive because they knew she would be the exasperating one, just like how disgusting the food was. He also began to wonder if Coral was named that because they knew that she would be the sweet one, the name itself had a sweet sound to it. That must have meant that he was named Acer because his parents knew he would ace school. Well Acer's parents had named them all correctly. Acer did amazing in school, Olive was the annoying one you'd want to avoid, and Coral was the sweet one you couldn't resist.

"Well I'm getting up and I'm getting ready, so see yah later," Acer replied as he hopped out of bed and pushed Olive out of his bedroom. He closed the door behind her and heard her run off, probably to complain to their mom about how he was being mean. "Sister's these days," he thought to himself as he picked out his reaping outfit. His outfit just so happened to consist of raged shorts and a red t-shirt. Red was his ultimate favorite color, which was a good thing, since that was the color he wore every day.

Just as he was about to walk out of his small bedroom, something shiny caught his eye. Upon closer examination, he realized that it was an old watch that had belonged to his father. Tears filled Acer's eyes as he thought back to that day six years ago.

_He was ten years old when it happened. He had been at school. Math. That was the subject that was being taught when a stampede of people rushed into the room._

_"There's been an accident at the Grainery!" They were shouting. Acer turned to his best friend Flint. Both boys had a look of fear upon their faces, their fathers worked at the Grainery. _

_"Stay calm!" The teacher announced but with an announcement like that, no one paid her any mind. It was a stampede as the children rushed out of class, the school day wasn't over yet, but the children didn't care. Most fathers worked at the Grainery, and everyone wanted to make sure that their father was okay._

_Acer and Flint rushed to their houses, not saying a word, but both praying that their fathers were alive. The last time there had been a Grainery accident, it had resulted in the death of fifteen workers._

_"I hope my parents are okay," Acer said to his best friend, who nodded. Acer's pulse raced as he ran home. He rushed into the small house and saw just his grandfather. That was when Acer knew something was wrong._

_ "I'm sorry squirt, but your dad was involved in the work accident," his Grandpa said as he hugged Acer tightly._

_"No, that can't be true!" Acer screamed at his Grandpa. He screamed so loud that Coral woke up from her nap. She erupted with tears and Acer went over to comfort her. His baby sister who was only a year old had no father now._

That one day changed Acer's life forever because the love between a child and a parent was a bond that couldn't be broken. The thing was, there was nothing that Acer could do to change what happened six years ago.

"Acer, honey, are you ready?" he heard his mom politely ask from outside of his bedroom.

"Yeah, I'll be right out," Acer replied as he grabbed the watch and stuck it into his pocket before walking out towards the rest of his family.

"We ready to go?" Acer's mom asked them all and they all said yes. Two minutes later and they were out the door and headed towards to the square. Acer was currently carrying Coral while Olive was being her normal complaining self. He paid her no mind since he was tired of Olive and all of her crabbiness.

In fact, she complained the whole way to the square. It seemed to take them forever before they arrived. Acer handed Coral to his mom, and went over to the sign-in booth. He found his best friends Flint and Marshall already in line to sign-in.

"Dude you ready for the reaping's?" Marshall asked as the line slowly crept forward.

"Not really, but yeah," Acer replied as he finished up signing in and waited for his friends. After they were all signed in, Marshall left Flint and Acer and the two of them walked over to the sixteen year old section. They watched as Marshall walked over to the fifteen year olds section and smiled at him.

He tuned out the Mayor's speech, it was probably the same boring stuff as always. The escort, Helga Greensfield eventually took center stage. Like always, she began with the girls and Acer watched as a girl he didn't know made her way to the stage. The girl was very skinny and she had brown eyes.

It wasn't long before Helga moved onto the boy tribute and the name "Acer Woodwing" rang out. Acer looked around and saw no movement, however, everyone had turned to stare at him. Somehow Acer made it to the stage, where the strange girl that he didn't know was waiting for him. "District nine; I give you your tributes for the twenty-fifth hunger games, Imogen Wheaton and Acer Woodwing," Helga said and soon he was escorted into the Justice building for goodbyes.

Coral came running into the room and tightly hugged Acer. Olive, his mom, and his grandpa followed in behind Coral and walked over to him. "My brother got picked. He might die. I call his bedroom…" Olive kept going on and on.

Acer cut Olive short though, "Oh shut up, you know you'd miss me."

"Oh please, who would miss you?" she replied and this time got cut off by three different people.

"Me!" Coral, their grandpa, and their mom all said.

"Aww I feel so special, well I love you all. Well maybe not Olive but other than that, I'm going to miss you all," the family hugged and the Peacekeepers forced the family to leave Acer.

Right after they left, Marshall and Flint entered the room. "Dude you never said anything about the District picking you!" Marshall said clear and loudly.

"Well that's because I didn't know it would be me!" Acer replied back clear and loudly.

"Well best of luck, man, I'll never forget about you," Flint said and Acer could tell that Flint was about to cry.

"Same goes for me," Marshall replied too and once again Acer could tell he too was about to cry.

Unfortunately their time didn't last too long and the peacekeepers forced Acer's all-time best friends out of the room, leaving only Acer. The boy sat there, wondering why the District had chosen him of all the boys. What had Acer done to them?

* * *

><p>Please review! I only got one review for the last chapter. Plus if you review, I'll get the chapters up quicker.<p> 


	7. Mist and Jennah's Reaping's

**District Ten: Mist Manke**

Mist would never say she hated her brother Tomy. Even though he married a girl that Mist couldn't stand. Tomy might have left the hard life for the easy life, but he was still from a poor family. Even when her best friend Pacy had told Mist that the rumors were pointing at Mist being picked for reapings. The only reason for that was because of Tamiya, the Mayor's daughter, who was too old to be picked. Mist wouldn't be the number one target to be sent into the games if it wasn't for Tomy marrying the Mayor's daughter

The problem was that it was too late. Tomy had already married the girl, and the District had made up their minds. Sure, the results hadn't been read yet, but Mist didn't have high hopes for a different outcome.

Mist tried not to blame her brother as she got ready for the day. Her favorite pair of jeans and a colorful shirt were lying on the back of the rickety chair in her room. She had picked out the outfit the night before. She quickly threw them on.

"Honey, why don't you wear this nice dress today?" Mist's father suggested as he walked in to Mist's room to see her wearing jeans.

The thing was, Mist didn't care that today was the day of the reaping's, she refused to wear a dress no matter what the occasion. Her father knew that, but still, he tried every year to get her to wear a dress, and every year he failed By now it was just tradition. "

But dad I don't want. Can't I just wear this?"

"Fine, fine" her father gave in for the umpteenth year in a row. He left her room with a shake of his head.

Mist was now left alone in her bedroom and she quickly grabbed her hairbrush. A few minutes later, her hair that was once a mess of knots was tangle-free. She smiled as she walked out of her bedroom, and into the kitchen to find her father.

"Hi Mist," her dad said.

"Hi dad," Mist replied just as she heard a knock on their door, "I'll get it." Mist rushed over to the door, hoping it was her two best friends, Pacy and Helly.

Unfortunately, it was neither of them but rather her brother and his wife. "Oh hey…" Mist said trying to keep her voice even and normal, all the while knowing that she hadn't succeeded.

"Tamiya, I'll be right back," Tomy told his wife as he pulled Mist into her bedroom. "Why do you hate her so much?" he practically yelled.

"No need to yell, Tomy, and have you _met_ her father? Everybody in the district hates him because he is a harsh mayor. Well we pick who goes into the games this year. If you were smart enough, which you aren't, you'd be able to figure out that I am at risk of getting reaped!" Mist started to get angry.

Tomy just looked at Mist, shocked about what she had just said. "Oh, I'm sorry for putting you in danger." Tomy scooped her up in a big hug, one that made Mist think that Tomy really hadn't thought that his decision had put her in danger. Mist could tell that Tomy didn't want his younger sister to be reaped.

A knock on her bedroom door interrupted their bonding time. Seconds later Pacy and Helly rushed in.

"Hey Mist, ready to go to the reaping's?" Pacy asked Mist. As they headed to the kitchen where Tamiya and her father were waiting.

"Yeah," Mist walked over to her father and hugged him tightly. "I'm going to head over to the Square, I'll see you then."

"Okay, bye Mist."

A few seconds later Mist, Pacy, and Helly were outside and headed over to the square.

The three girls giggled and laughed as they shared silly stories. Helly even talked about Parker, the really cute boy that Helly liked.

When they made it to the square, they were all sad because they were all different ages and had to go their separate ways.

Right when Mist made it to the sixteen year olds section, Tamiya's mean father made his way up to the stage to say the same thing he said every year.

Mist tuned him out though and quite soon their escort, Terry Snarkles, jumped on to the stage. "Good morning District Ten, shall we begin with the girls?" She didn't even wait for a reply though as she grabbed the envelope with the name of one unlucky girl.

"Mist Manke," Terry read out. Of course Terry would say the one name that Mist didn't want to hear and she gulped. She had been reaped, just like she had though. She had no choice put to make her way up to the dreaded stage.

Mist looked out at the crowd and spotted her broken brother, she knew why he was so sad. If only he didn't marry the mean mayor's spoiled daughter.

Before Mist even knew it, there was a boy standing next to her. It didn't take her long to realize who it was. Of course her fellow district partner would be the boy Helly liked.

Mist's eyes went from Tomy to Parker to Helly. She didn't know what was worse. Was it worse having a brother who was blaming himself for his sister getting reaped? How about seeing a fifteen year old boy standing next to her about to cry as he realized he was going to die? Or was it worse having a best friend whose best friend and boy she liked both got reaped?

During the time when Terry was introducing the two tributes to the District, Mist was still looking around at the three people. By this time, all three of them were crying which soon caused Mist to cry also.

The Peacekeepers wouldn't put up with both tributes crying though and quickly lead them to the Justice Building.

Mist continued to cry as her brother entered the room to say his goodbyes first. "Mist, I love you. You're my sister and I know I can be a jerk to you sometimes, but it's because I love you. Now you better do your best to get your butt back here," Tomy spoke fast as they both tried to hold back more tears.

"Don't worry Tomy, I am in it to win it," she replied with a smile.

The smile faded though as Tomy told Mist that he talked to Tamiya. He told Mist what their conversation consisted of. In that conversation, he blamed Mist getting reaped on Tamiya, and even threatened to divorce her if Mist was killed.

Mist started to freak out and told him he couldn't, but he said that Mist was more important than Tamiya.

The Peacekeepers interrupted them though and forced Tomy to leave just as Pacy and Helly entered. All that happened was they both told Mist they loved her and that she didn't deserve this. They too blamed Tamiya. They also said how Mist had what it took to win the games but Mist's two best friends that were like sisters were soon forced to leave.

Next to enter was Mist's loving father. He told her pretty much the same thing that Pacy and Helly had told her, so of course it felt like them all over again. The one thing that did take her by surprise was when he handed her a necklace. "I want this to be your token," he handed it over to Mist.

She smiled as she took the necklace from him and hugged her father tightly until he too was forced to leave. She knew it was hard for him to part with it. The necklace had been her mother's. When she was a little girl she would always play with it, until the day when her father had put it somewhere safe because he was afraid it would get broken.

After he left, Mist thought that would be all of her visitors but to her surprise Tamiya and her father came in to say _goodbye_.

"Look here brat, I don't think you have what it takes to win the games, but you better win. If you don't and your stupid brother decides to divorce me then I will kill him!" After she was done with her little outburst, she angrily stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

"Just do your best. I'm sure she didn't mean it," her father replied as nicely as possible before following his daughter out.

It was official, the goodbyes were over and the Peacekeepers lead her over to where Terry and Parker were already waiting for her.

She refused to look at either of them but instead thought about what had just happened. She had the goodbyes that went well and how they were supposed to be. She had the goodbyes that made her cry as her brother told her what would happen if she didn't win. Then she had the goodbye where her brother's wife threatened to kill her brother if she didn't win. The world really was a cruel place to live.

**District Twelve: Jennah Morrison**

She had been slapped, yelled at, and abused. Her alcoholic mother didn't care one ounce about her.

The second Jennah had woken up on the day of the reaping's, her so called mother yelled at Jennah. She ignored it though as she quickly put on dirty clothes and headed out the door. Jennah didn't even bother to say goodbye to her mom. Instead, she walked outside into the fresh air and headed towards Jen's house. Jen and Jennah were best friends, in fact, they were the same age, and Jen's given name was Jennah as well. She just went by Jen to keep it less confusing.

Jen was really nice, in fact her whole family was. Since Jennah was abused at her own house, she spent a lot of time at Jen's house instead. Jen's parents had no problem with Jennah and thought of her as their own daughter.

On Jennah's way over to Jen's house, she saw Jen's twelve year old brother, Jeremiah. "Hey Jeremiah," she walked over to him and smiled.

"Oh, hey Jennah. Let me guess, you were on your way over to my house?" he laughed.

"Oh my god, how in the world did you know?" Jennah laughed too.

"Because, I am psychic!"

"Oh, sure you are. Well what are you even doing out? Jen told me your parents grounded you."

"They did. I kind of snuck out of the house last night after my parents got mad at me..."

"Geez Jeremiah. You're twelve years old and you're already a troublemaker. What did you even do in the first place?"

"Let's just say that I did a mean prank on Jen, and she got mad."

"Oh Jen never told me about that. Well to be honest, I think you should go back to your house. I'm sure they won't be that harsh on you. Plus I'll be there in case they do."

"Okay Jennah, thanks."

With that, the two of them headed back to Jeremiah's house. When they reached his house, his parents came running out. Sure they were mad and worried about their son, but they didn't get too mad at him. Jennah thought that his parents didn't want to act like Jennah's mom did to her.

"Okay Jeremiah, go get ready for the reaping's. It's your first year, you better pick out something better than what you're wearing now and Jennah darling, go ask Jen for a dress. You can't go to the reaping's in those dirty clothes!" Jen's mom said as Jeremiah and Jennah did as they were told to do.

Jennah walked into Jen's bedroom and saw her lying on her bed. Jen was already ready for the reaping's. "Your mom said I need a dress of yours to wear."

"You sure do. Your mom really doesn't care about you," Jen replied as she walked over to her closet and picked out a purple dress. "Here wear this. I think it will look good on you," Jen handed the dress over to Jennah.

"Thanks Jen, you're the best," Jennah grabbed the dress and changed into it. Sure enough, she looked good in it.

"Come on kids, we have to go to the reaping's now," Jen's dad yelled loud enough for Jen, Jennah, and Jeremiah to hear.

A few minutes later, the family, plus Jennah, left the house and walked to the square. On their way over to the square, they saw Jennah's mom. She seemed to notice them to and walked over to them. "She's my daughter, not yours," she shouted at them as she grabbed Jennah from them.

"Stop being such an alcoholic and treat her the way you should treat her. Then maybe, just maybe, she'll want to be around you!" Jen's mom nastily replied back. Jennah was glad that at least one family wanted her.

"I can treat her however I want to treat her!" Jennah's mom replied as she grabbed Jennah by the ear and pulled her over to the square. "Now go do what you're supposed to do!"

Jennah wanted to cry as she signed in and headed over to the fifteen year olds section. Jennah hated her mother and just wanted to live with Jen and her family, the thing was her mother forced Jennah to live with her just so she could treat Jennah poorly.

A few minutes later, Jen came over to the section and hugged Jennah tightly, sad that her best friend was crying. "I'm sorry Jennah, you don't deserve and of the crap your so called mom gives you."

Jennah forced a smile as she hugged Jen back, "Thanks Jen."

Before they knew it, the mayors speech was over and their escort, Leo Trinket, came up to the stage. "Good morning District Twelve, are we ready to find out who you all chose as this year's tributes?" Of course Leo didn't care if they weren't ready to hear it. He grabbed the girl's envelope and pulled out the slip of paper. "Jennah Morrison," he called out.

The two Jennah's looked at each other as they both realized Jennah had just gotten reaped. Unfortunately, Jennah had to leave Jen and headed up to the stage. When she made it up there, Jennah saw Jen's family all sad that a girl who wasn't even their daughter had just gotten reaped. However, when Jennah looked at her own mother, Jennah saw her all happy as she laughed about her daughter getting reaped.

Leo didn't care about this though and he continued as he read out the boy tribute, "Troyzan Smith."

Jennah watched as the poor boy made his way up to the stage from the twelve year olds section. She bet that the twelve year old had done nothing wrong. The thing was, the district didn't care, because they still chose a twelve year old to go into the games.

"District Twelve, I give you Jennah Morrison and Troyzan Smith!" rang out in Jennah's ears as the Peacekeepers lead her into the Justice Building for her goodbyes.

Jen and her family came running in for their goodbyes. "Jennah, I'm sorry that you got reaped. It's all because of your mother though, so don't feel like it's your fault. Well I know you have what it takes to win, so just do your best," Jen's parents said as they both hugged Jennah and left leaving only Jeremiah, Jen, and Jennah.

"Jennah you really are a sweet girl. Thanks for the help this morning," Jeremiah said before he too left.

The two best friends sat there, as they both tried to keep back tears. "Jennah, you're my best friend in the whole wide world. If you…die, I'm going to die just thinking about you. Promise me you'll do your best?"

"I'll do the best I can do Jen, I love you best friend," Jennah wiped the tears away as the peacekeepers forced Jen to leave.

Since Jennah's mom hated Jennah, she didn't even come to say goodbye to her. Jennah had no parents who loved her in the first place. The best thing she had was Jen and her family. The thing was, Jennah's mom caused her to get reaped and now she would most likely never see Jen's family again.

* * *

><p>Once again, please review.<p>

Only one more reaping chapter to go!


	8. Alyssa and Aiden's Reaping's

**District Eleven: Alyssa Brown**

Alyssa was having a dream when she felt somebody on her bed. Slowly, Alyssa opened up her eyes to see her twenty two year old sister, Esther, sitting on her bed. "Hey sis, it's time for you and your lazy butt to get out of bed."

Alyssa groaned, "But Esther, I don't want to wake up. Can't you just let me sleep some more?" She put the covers over her head, as she tried to settle back into her dream. Alyssa didn't care what day it was; all she wanted to do was sleep.

"Alyssa, why do you have to be such a pain sometimes? Today is the day of the reaping's, and I need you to start getting ready. If you don't then I'll go there without you and when the Peacekeeper's come after you and whip you to death, you can say I told you so." Alyssa could feel Esther get off her bed, the floor boards squeaked as Esther walked to the door.

Alyssa slowly opened up her eyes to see Esther rolling her eyes. "Why are you rolling your eyes at me?" Alyssa asked.

Esther turned around to see Alyssa still lying in bed all comfortable. Alyssa could tell that Esther wanted to sleep too. She could also tell that Esther was getting mad that she wouldn't get out of bed. Being the kind sister that she was, Alyssa took the covers off of her and slowly made her way out of her not so comfy bed. "Okay Esther, you win, I'm up, happy now?"

"Yes I am, now go change. We have to leave in a few minutes," Esther walked away.

Alyssa did as she was told and quickly threw on an ugly blue dress. Alyssa preferred to look her best at the reaping's, but her and her sister weren't that rich and couldn't afford nice things. In fact, if this was a regular reaping then Alyssa would have had eight additional tesserae. Luckily, this wasn't a regular reaping so she didn't have to deal with tesserae. Now all she had to do was hope that the district wouldn't pick her. If the district did pick her, then she would do anything to get back to Esther.

"Are you ready yet?" came Esther's voice. Alyssa quickly turned around, quite frightened as she didn't expect her sister to be there.

"Yeah, let's go," Alyssa replied as she finished brushing her hair and walked over to Esther.

"Okay," Esther walked over to the table and grabbed her special necklace that she received before their parents died.

Even though the necklace was her sister's, it still made Alyssa think of her parents. That was the saddest day of her life. Though Alyssa loved her older sister, she still wished she had her parents. She had only been ten when they died, and she hadn't been ready to give them up yet.

"Alyssa?" Esther repeatedly asked, as it took a few times to get Alyssa back to what was really happening.

"Huh?" Alyssa came back into the world as she realized she was just standing there.

"Let's go, before we're late," Esther started to walk out of their squeaky door.

"Okay," and then they finally made their way towards the square.

They walked in silence to the square, neither of them could find any words to say. Alyssa loved her sister; in fact they really bonded with each other by just being there for support. Alyssa was fine with the fact that Esther didn't like to talk much.

"Okay, meet me back here after the reaping," Esther said when they made it to the square.

Alyssa nodded her head and then left Esther. On Alyssa's way over to sign in, a little twelve year old girl bumped into her. "Watch where you are going!" Alyssa yelled at the little girl. She didn't care if it was an accident, she hated when people bumped into her, even if they were younger.

"S-sorry," Alyssa could tell the girl was scared, but Alyssa didn't care.

"Sorry isn't enough, now go before I get more mad!" Alyssa yelled some more. The girl ran off and Alyssa shook her head.

By the time Alyssa made her way to the fifteen year olds section, their escort, Darla Spively, had the name of the girl tribute and was just about to read it. "Alyssa Brown," Darla read out. Alyssa realized that that was her name.

"Why me? Why me?" Alyssa whispered to herself as she made her way up to the stage.

Darla gave her a friendly smile before continuing on with the reaping's. "Aiden May," she read. Alyssa watched as a tall boy with dirty blond hair emerged from the fifteen year olds section. When he made it up to the stage, he shook hands with Alyssa. "District eleven, I give you Alyssa Brown and Aiden May!"

Alyssa glared out at the crowd and saw the girl that had bumped into her earlier. Now she had a smile on her face, happy that Alyssa was reaped. Alyssa gulped, she scared a girl and now the girl was happy.

Before she had any more time to think about that fact, Alyssa was lead into the Justice Building where Esther came running in. "Alyssa! I had no idea that the district would pick you. Why?" Esther asked, starting to think that Alyssa did something bad.

"I don't know, maybe it's because nobody really knows me or maybe they think I can win this," Alyssa suggested.

Esther looked at Alyssa, "I don't know," she hedged, "maybe. Well anyway, this is for you," Esther took off her necklace from their parents and placed it around Alyssa.

"Oh, thanks Esther, you're the best sister ever. I love you and I'll see you in a few weeks."

"I better see you in a few weeks!" Esther replied before the peacekeeper's forced her to leave. "I want that necklace back!"

Since Alyssa knew Esther would be her only visitor, she sat there for a few minutes until the peacekeepers came and lead her to where Darla was waiting for her and Aiden. Aiden was getting there at the same time that Alyssa got there. Alyssa looked at Aiden and realized that he got here as quickly as Alyssa. That meant that he must have had only one visitor too. Then it hit her, the district chose two kids who weren't really known in the district.

**District Eleven: Aiden May**

When Aiden woke up and saw that his dad was crying again, he knew exactly why. Nothing could ever change Aiden's dad. His dad officially had a broken heart because his wife died when Aiden was little.

Aiden's dad was so broken; he never even told Aiden what happened to his mother. He would always beg his dad to tell him, but he always said no.

However, Aiden did what he always did. He walked over to his dad and hugged him as he tried to comfort him. "Dad I know you miss mom, but we need to start getting ready for the reaping's." Aiden handed his dad a tissue and watched as his dad wiped away his tears.

"Thanks Aiden," his dad stood up and grabbed some clothes to wear to the reaping's.

Aiden did the same as he walked over to his drawer and grabbed jeans and a green t-shirt. Neither Aiden nor his dad ever dressed fancy for the reaping's, but instead in every day clothes. Part of that was due to the fact that they were poor. In fact, his father and him even lived in the poorest area in their district. That was why Aiden was currently putting on clothes that weren't the nicest.

After Aiden put on his clothes and did all of the other things he needed to do, he walked over to his dad. "Hey dad, you ready to go?" Aiden asked his father who was currently grieving some more. "Dad can you just please tell me what happened to mom? I'm sure you'll feel better..."

His dad quickly smashed his hand on the table as he yelled, "Stop Aiden! If I told you everything would be different. I will tell you what happened when the time is right."

Aiden looked at his father who was currently angry. "Fine, now let's go to the reaping's."

"Okay," Aiden's dad replied as he stormed out of the house.

Aiden followed behind, slamming the stubborn door shut. Since Aiden was a little mad that his dad wouldn't tell him about what happened with his mom, the two didn't exchange any words. In fact when they reached the square, the two just nodded their heads as they went their separate ways.

As Aiden was walking over to the fifteen year olds section, he saw a girl that he recognized from his grade. Her name was Alyssa and Aiden only knew that because his dad and him actually voted for her to go into the games.

Alyssa was currently being mean to a twelve year old girl. Aiden felt bad for the twelve year old. Suddenly Aiden didn't feel bad about voting for Alyssa. The little girl ran away from Alyssa, scared. Aiden would have said something to Alyssa, but he didn't bother, instead he went over to the fifteen year old section for the boys.

Darla Spively, their escort came up to the stage after their mayor finished. Aiden looked at Darla, she was a new escort. Aiden started to wonder what happened to their old escort, who he did not remember the name of.

"Alyssa Brown," rang out through Aiden's ears as he watched Alyssa head up to the stage.

Quite soon, Darla was calling out the boy tribute, "Aiden May." His eyes quickly scattered around as he realized he had just been reaped. Though he didn't want to, Aiden made his way up to the stage. "District eleven, I give you Alyssa Brown and Aiden May!" Darla announced cheerfully. Aiden didn't see anything cheerful about her announcement.

While being led to the Justice building, Aiden gulped as it finally sank in. He was the chosen tribute.

A few minutes after he made his way into his room for goodbyes, his father came in. "Son I am sorry. I didn't know this would happen. First your mom and now you," his dad was very sad.

"It's okay dad, I love you," Aiden leaned in to hug his dad.

"I killed her," His dad blurted out unexpectedly. It was the last thing that Aiden thought his father would say. "It was thirteen years ago to this day. That morning I woke up, she was still sleeping, it was cold in the house. I didn't want her to freeze when she got out of the warm bed. So I started a fire. You started to cry, so I went to go get you before your cries woke her up. I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden it got hotter in the room, and smoke filled the air. I grabbed you and ran outside. By the time I put you down and ran back in the house to save her, it was too late." His face feel into his palms and his whole body racked as he cried. "It was an accident," he sobbed.

Before Aiden could reply, his dad was forced to leave by the peacekeeper's.

Aiden was then led to where Darla and Alyssa were. Aiden didn't care about them though. He only cared about his dad. His father had saved Aiden, it would be a waste to die now. He had to win the Hunger Games, for his dad.

* * *

><p>Now the reaping's are officially over.<p>

You have met all fifteen of the main tributes and now it is your turn to vote for your favorites.

So go check out my pole and vote!

However, before voting you should leave a review because you are such a kind person :)


End file.
